Upsurge in road accidents: “It’s heart-wrenching” – Pres Ali on weekend deadly accidents

…says situation deeply troubling, must be considered a national issue

The weekend of carnage on the roadways that resulted in the deaths of eight people over the weekend, is a deeply troubling matter that, according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, must be looked at from a national angle and involve society as a collective.
According to the President on the sidelines of an event on Monday, he is deeply troubled by the carnage on the road and in fact, had a long conversation on Sunday with acting Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken, on what strategies the Police will be taking to address the accidents on the roadway.
“So, we have to look at all of these things and put the safety measures in place. But there must be a strong public education programme. I asked the Traffic Chief to meet with the media and work out a programme with the media, through which we can build a strong public education and awareness programme, dealing with this.”
“We also have to move to the enforcement of laws, demeriting system. Suspension of licence. We’ve already moved on the electronic ticketing. In one month, we had over 5000 tickets. So, we have to look at this in a collective way. And it’s heart-wrenching. Eight persons in one night. And the age group. Whole futures ahead of them. Families are wrecked, communities are wrecked. We have to hold this as a national issue.”
The President noted that he has already instructed the Police to launch a massive road safety campaign across the country, which will cover safety markings among other things.
“I’ve already told the Police we have to do a number of things. One, we have to launch a massive road safety campaign across the country, where you have visuals, safety markings, areas where… especially in the nights. And this is a stat I asked them for, to see how many accidents occur in the early morning hours. Might be going out and they’re sleeping away at the wheels.”
“We have a collective responsibility on this issue. And we have to call a spade a spade. Parents have responsibilities too. We have 17-year-olds and so on. We have to deal with this as a collective, as a country. And we have to address drinking and driving, we have to address speeding.”
With the development taking place across Guyana, there has been an increased presence of motor lorries on the road. According to President Ali, the accidents involving these lorries is also a concern of his.
“There are a number of accidents these days involving lorries. That’s a concern too. Our roadways are not designed for this load they’re taking off. And we have to be more cautious in our use of the road. And if you look, a lot of the accidents are caused by excessive speeding. And a lot of drinking and driving,” the President said.
Over the weekend, eight young persons died in three separate accidents. Four teenagers died in the wee hours of Sunday morning, when the vehicle that 17-year-old Daveanand Singh of Providence, East Bank Demerara, was driving, collided with a parked truck and concrete fence at Canal No 2, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
Singh and his three companions; Amiesha Jaikaran, 19, and Daniel Tirbeni, 19, both of La Grange, WBD; Divyanie Narine, 18, of Kitty, Georgetown, died as a result of that accident.
An accident on the Unity Public Road in Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, also claimed the lives of three youths.  Dead are 21-year-old motorcyclist Elisha Pellew of Unity, his pillion rider, Raymond Rose of Mahaica and Shawn Persaud, 19.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Rahul Thakoor of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, Berbice, lost his life in an accident between two motorcyclists on the No 11 Public Road, East Berbice, on Saturday.